Sportsbet’s ad featuring drug cheat runner Ben Johnson has been banned by the Advertising Standards Board after the watchdog was bombarded by complaints from the public and sporting authorities.

The move came despite Sportsbet arguing that applying a “moral compass” to the ad was “plainly irrelevant”.

Johnson: fronted the Sportsbet ad

The ad for Sportsbet’s new Android betting app featured the message “putting the ‘roid in Android” and centred on sprinter Ben Johnson who was stripped of his Olympic gold medal in 1988 for doping. He later admitted he used steroids to break the 100m world record in 1987.

The complaint to the ASB said: “ASADA does not condone the message sent in this advertisement. This advert makes light of the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport and sends the completely wrong message that the use of drugs in sport is normal.”

The ad also features lookalikes of cyclist Lance Armstrong, stripped of seven Tour de France titles, the Russian weightlifting team who were barred from the 2016 Rio Olympics, and champion Chinese swimmer, Sung Yang, who was accused of cheating by Australian swimmer Mack Horton.

Sportsbet ad also featured Lance Armstrong lookalike

Other complaints included: “It teachers young people that cheating at sports is OK and taking drugs is OK as you can still earn money from advertising. It sends the wrong message to youth.”

And: “It is an appalling validation of drugs in sport, performance enhancing drugs and the link to gambling. Whoever approved this advertisement at the company level, and at the broadcasting level, need a good hard look at themselves. As a parent, as a coach, as a sportperson – I am APPALLED.”

The ASB considered four different versions of the ad covering free to air TV, pay TV, digital and social.

Defending the ad, Sportsbet claimed that most the complaints were “irrelevant”.

Appearing to confuse the word “tenure” with “tenet”, Sportsbet argued in its lengthy ASB submission: “The whole tenure of the Complaints appear to be based on the complainants’ own personal preferences, values or tastes and not on whether or not the Advertisements depict material contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety.”

Sportsbet went on: “The Advertisements are clearly and obviously a spoof and parody. They are in no way intended to be – nor could a viewer reasonably consider them to be – a portrayal of a realistic situation. ”

It added: “The Advertisements mock and deride athletes who have taken performance enhancing drugs. In no way, do the Advertisements glorify or promote the use of these substances.”

Sportsbet also argued that moral issues should not come into the ASB decision.

It wrote: “The fact that Sportsbet has paid Mr Ben Johnson a sum of money to appear in the Advertisements and promote Sportsbet’s Android App and that doesn’t ‘sit well’ with a pocket of the community based on their moral compass or otherwise is plainly irrelevant.”

However, the ASB banned all four versions of the ad. It ruled: “The Board considered that the advertisement overall suggests that the ‘roid’ is a positive element to the new App and encourages people to use the new App and to bet quickly. The Board considered that the impression of the advertisement makes light of drug use and that the use of drugs will enhance performance.

“The use of humour does not necessarily outweigh or justify a message that reasonable people in the community might take from an advertisement.

“In the Board’s view this depiction is done in a way that makes light of their use of a substance that is banned for use in sport. In the Board’s view the use of Ben Johnson in conjunction with a humorous message about drug use conveys a message that there is not a negative side to drug use and cheating and could be seen as a suggestion that there are benefits to gain from cheating or from behaviour that will enhance your performance.

“The Board also considered that, despite the parody, there is little consequence depicted for these actions as the athletes are portrayed in a positive way, rather than showing a negative side to the choices they made in their sporting careers.”

Hey Sportsbet, don’t you know you’re advertising to Australia and it’s 2017? We don’t have a sense of humour anymore and we are personally offended by the slightest things…
ASB and ASADA – what a joke.

Just plain wrong.
The ad is funny. But paying a cheat specifically to promote the fact he cheated, and linking a gambling site to sports cheats… just a step too far, regardless of how good the creative.

I know you like to grumble about everything being PC or everyone being offended – but remember those are two conflicting thoughts.

I like the ad. But I agree with the decision. Youngsters are subtly vulnerable to principle erosion. As older people, our views were solidified a decade or so ago. Teenagers are having their views baked in now.

One drop of water doesn’t make an ocean, but we need to be vigilant to defend against setting cascading precedents for what is acceptable.

The decision to ban the ad is useless at this point, the job is done. The best campaign in Aus in many a year. Probably up their with the ARL’s Tina Turna – Simply the Best…. or even the iconic ‘give that man a new’.

So happy my kids aren’t going to fall for steroid abuse. They have enough on their plates with the punting and downing a XXXX while they watch the ads during the footy. And no ‘roid phones for them either… they can download their betting apps on an iPhone.

What a dumb decision. It was no doubt aired during shows depicting violence, sex, greed, profiteering at others expense, etc. Lucky the moral crusaders have made the ad break a bit safer by taking a humorous ad poking fun at drug cheats off the air though…

This is the classic line taken by the betting companies – that adults can make a reasonable judgement on the contents and the product and understand the apparent humour or parody.

Problem is – their ads are seen by children so frequently that there is no consideration taken for how they will interpret them.That’s the greater issue here and one they could all think a bit more about.

I think this is sad picture of the state we live in. There is reducing place for humour and satire because minority groups have too much impact.

We take ourselves to seriously and people who govern the country spend too much time on this type of thing because they can win public opinion to “be liked” to win votes.

Well Australia time to make your vote count for politicians who care about the real things that affect our lives, hospitals, education, infrastructure etc. It doesn’t matter if you “like” them. Its not a
social media post that goes away in an hour. They’re governing our country and affecting our future. Wake up to what this is about.
Please let’s get real and stop being the marshmallow country.

What a terrible decision. The role of advertising is to get noticed and be memorable. This does that. In fact I think it does it beautifully.
Just because someone is offended doesn’t mean they’re right.
Fucking ridiculous.

‘wont somebody think of the children!’
Seriously this was a great ad, I thought it was really funny. It’s obviously tongue in cheek. Sport isn’t some sacred institution, and nowhere is this condoning doping or saying it’s cool to do drugs in sport. It’s BS this got banned and obviously some senior intervention.

Brilliant campaign. Brilliant targeting. Brilliant idea. This is a complete farce.
You people who talk about youngsters obviously don’t have kids or are crap parents.
I’m not sure what this ban is protecting anyone from.
I applaud what must be a gutsy client and agency. More power to you.

Sportsbet missed using our Olympic Dressage representative AND the governing body EA, who both proceeded to have her ride for Australia at the Rio Olympics – even though the combination should have been withdrawn due to positive drug test at a qualifying event one month before!

I wish Ben Johnson had been in the four by four relay and the baton was a piece of coal and he passed the coal to other cheats. Perhaps other sports doping cheats, or how about tax cheats, bribed politicians, ‘dodgy’ media owners; could have been much more creative and realistic.